Oldbury

Background

Oldbury nuclear power station is a decommissioned Magnox nuclear power station situated on the eastern bank of the River Severn in South Gloucestershire. Oldbury was the first nuclear power station in the UK to use prestressed concrete pressure vessels, earlier Magnox reactors having used steel pressure vessels more suited to smaller reactors. The ongoing decommissioning process is being managed by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority subsidiary, Magnox Ltd.

The nuclear power station came into service in 1967 and after 44 years of successful operation, supplying on a typical day 435MW of electricity around the clock, the twin reactor station closed in 2012 and was fuel free by 2016.  

The site is now focussed on the completion of ponds decommissioning work and retrieving, packaging and conditioning other forms of radioactive waste on site.  Design plans for the retrieval of fuel element debris in the Oldbury vaults are underway. Conventional demolition work is also beginning to reduce the footprint of the site.

The intermediate level waste at Oldbury will be packaged and transported to the interim storage facility at the Berkeley nuclear power station until a UK geological disposal facility becomes available. 

The site will then enter a care and maintenance stage until further radioactive decay occurs and the reactors can be demolished before final site clearance.